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My grandfather, Robert Lloyd Jones, was the second son of Evan Jones and his wife, Mary Ann Puleston. He was born at Tremaran, Tegid Street, Bala, Merionethshire, Wales on 28 August 1863.

At the time of the 1871 Census for Llanycil, Bala, Robert was living with his parents, brothers and sisters and 2 servants at London House, High Street, Bala.

On 3 April 1881, his parents and 4 of his siblings, but not Robert himself, are recorded in the Census as living at 12 Mount Street, Llanycil, Bala, Merioneth. The 1881 Census records Robert, age 17, born in Bala, and his eldest brother John Puleston Jones, age 19, born in Llanbedr, as visitors at the home of Martha Jones and her family (relations of his father, Evan Jones?) at Little Marcott Lane, Hawarden, Flint, Wales.

Robert became an auctioneer, architect, civil engineer and surveyor. On 11 to 13 August 1885, the firm of Robert Lloyd Jones & Co conducted an auction in Bala of "Art Porcelain, Decorative & Useful Glass, Table & Chamber Services, Various Artistic and Fancy Goods, Being a Consignment of most superior character, and worthy the special attention of the Inhabitants of Bala and surrounding District, and affords a rare opportunity for people about to commence housekeeping". The stock was said to have a value of about £1,200 and was consigned by "one of the first Manufacturing Firms in the Potteries (in consequence of a Fire at the Manufactory and now Rebuilding)".

LETTERS FROM THE MID-WEST, USA

In early 1886, Robert travelled from Liverpool to New York with his uncle, Edward Puleston, on the R M S Aurania. On 8 March 1886, Robert is recorded in the ship's passenger list as arriving in New York City from Liverpool and Queenstown. He is described as age 22, Surveyor, a native of Flint, England, with 1 piece of baggage. His uncle is described as age 52, Male, Farmer, Citizen, his Native Country is described as Flint, England, his intended destination Kansas and he had 1 piece of baggage. They both travelled in the "W I Compartments".

From the USA, Robert wrote the following letters to his parents in Mount Place, Bala, Merionethshire, Wales:

I received your letters this morning. Augusta's letter I received all right if it was the one in which she says what she learns at school you refer to. R Lloyd Jones K.C. Mo. U.S. would find me all right. I would send you more papers but here I never see one except when Mr Allen or some other member of the Co. come up & bring me one & by the time that is read all round there is very little of it left. John going in for another year it will be some time before I see any of you. I hope very much that Mr Williams will come over he would be so much company.

One day it was so hot here 90 degrees in the shade that I had to give up work at 11 o'clock. I could hardly stand up. I took the next train to Lenexa to see a friend of mine Dr. Bowers who was very much afraid I was going to be very ill. He gave me several medicines but my stomach would retain none of them. I had eaten hardly anything for some time. However he gave me a strong tonic to take back with me & some Sedlitz Powders to take in very small doses at a time till my stomach settled & then I was to take the tonic. Towards evening I came to retain the medicine & in a couple of days the tonic made me feel stronger than ever. The Dr. said that I had all the symptoms of malaria & that if the tonic would not take effect it would inevitably come on. But by this time all have passed away & I am all right again. The first two days I was nearly too weak to stand & felt exhausted & tired if I walked a 100 yards. The Dr. said I may consider myself out of all danger when I could walk and work without that feeling. I had to stop the whole corps [the work party he was in charge of when surveying the route of the proposed railway] for nearly two days & if I had not got well when I did I would have lain off & gone to the city so that they could send another man to take charge of this work until I got well again. However I am thankful that I got off so well.

I forgot to tell you in any of my last letters that I had my Bag cut open some time ago at a Hotel in the country. A long cut with a sharp knife on each side of the opening along the top. One thing it is cut in such a way that it can be very neatly mended by sewing an ornamental strap on each side across the open slits. When I get time to take it to the city I will get that done. Of course it will be done at the expense of the Hotel Landlord - I arranged that with him. They got nothing for I never leave money & such things around. I always leave them at the Hotel office & check them.

I wrote to my father last week about transit giving all details &c. I hope he received the letter all right.

I know very little about Jones - they hardly ever write. Fannie writes occasionally. I think he is doing pretty well but I am afraid he is getting into debt.

He has taken a house & bought all the furniture & also a new buggy - whether he has paid for them I can't tell. I hardly think he has. What I believe is that as his prospects brighten so will his expenses increase. He has written me some very nice(?) letters lately & I can't tell what I have done either. He says he will tell me sometime. Anyway I will have as little to do with him in the future as I can. I am sure I have done all I could for him & have never spoken disparagingly of him to anyone. When I go to Osage I go to the Hotel. I would not take a Golden Eagle for staying with him again. I am glad I never had more than one meal from him.

Auntie [Jane Puleston, then living nearby either at Arvonia, Osage County, Kansas or possibly in Current Township, Texas County, Missouri?] is not very well lately. Uncle [Jane's husband Edward Puleston?] is better. I may go down there to spend the 4th [of July, the American Independence Day holiday]- anyhow I must see what is going on here. The President & his wife are coming to St. Louis shortly and an invitation is framed costing 1000$ to invite him into this City, he will probably come. I am sorry to trouble my father about that money but I do hope he will in some way be able to send it. I am so much afraid of something turning up, this work not going on or something & without an instrument [ for surveying, his profession] it would be much harder for me to find another job at this time of year.

Never take any notice of the heading of my letters at present. I move so often that you must address as before to the office in Kan. City.

When I wrote to Mother I was in the office to the office work. There seemed so little prospect of there being that kind of work for me all winter that I sent to Mr Allen to say that I was looking out for another position. Then he made the office at Kansas City the Headquarters of the Engineering department of this new R.R. [railroad] & left me in full charge of it. After I had got my instrument & the weather had cooled a little I thought it would do me good to have an outside job for a few weeks & I determined I would look out for one, when just at that time they decided to put another party in the field to hurry the work. The following day I had a letter from Mr. Allen asking if I would take the party & he would give me ninety (90) dollars a month and all expenses except board. If I accepted I was to be there the next day. Of course I didn't hesitate but packed up what things I wanted with me & got my instruments ready & took the night express on the Union Pacific that same night at 10 o'clock. Being fortunate to get a fast train I reached here about six o'clock the next morning.

The work is a preliminary survey of the "Kan. City Laurence and Nebraska Rail-Road". It starts at Kan. City, passes through Laurence N.W. to Meriden Jeff. Co nearly W. to Westmoreland, Pottawatomie Co., Randolph, Riley Co., N. to Greenleaf Washington Co., to Washington City then as straight as we can to Hastings in Adams County, Nebraska. The whole length is about 300 miles or nearly so. The worst part of the line is in Pottawatomie County. It is all high hills and steep valleys. Mr Leach who has charge of one party works from Ol[e]sburg 7 miles east of here, towards Kan. City & I work from there N.W. to Hastings. We are now in the worst part of the line & our progress is rather slow. For the past week we have only averaged 3 miles a day. We hope from this on to average 4. They consider 2½ or 3 miles for the whole line as very fair work.

Mr. Allen is chief engineer & locates himself in some central point convenient for both parties. He will show me on an ordinary map the general course of a section 20 or 30 miles long & that is about all I see of him. I have to select the route myself. I have a certain limit for grade and curve which I have to keep as far within as possible, never to exceed. Occasionally I come to a place where there is an awkward ravine and creek to cross. In such cases when I am doubtful whether it would be more economical and best to carry the line straight across & have high banks, trestle work & bridge & often a strong breakwater, to avoid such a place by one, two or more curves thereby increasing the length & friction to the wheels making it more expensive to work the line when completed, I make a survey of both routes putting on as much information as I can. That won't often happen. We do not use a chain at all, but get all our distances with the stadia wires in the telescope. I not only make a topographical survey for two or three hundred feet each side of the line sometimes for 1200ft. but I also calculate the elevation of each point where the ground changes. The leveller checks all these. Of course he has much less work than I have & would get way ahead if allowed to keep on, but when he gets two or more miles ahead I make him stop & keep notes for me then I get along much quicker.

I may not finish in time to see the Exposition but it wouldn't do to refuse the chance, for I get more salary & that is the least important thing to be gained. It may not be as pleasant as in Kan. City. We shall have to rough it a great deal. Probably we shall not be so well pleased with it at the time, but it will do us no harm & will not last more than two months at furthest. After all the harder the experience, the more we shall ultimately gain by it.

I am very sorry I left K.C. before Mr. Williams arrived. I had a letter from him last week marked Chicago, in which he said he hoped to reach K.C. last Tuesday. I wrote a letter to the Office to be delivered to him when he came. Yesterday Mr. Breithaupt returned that letter with a note that Mr. Williams had despatched from Chicago for my address which he gave as Randolph Kan. From that it seems he is still at Chicago: I have not heard from him since. I have received heaps of newspapers & cuttings all of which I find very interesting.

The people about here are very much puzzled about our surveying. They can't understand how we can get any idea of its length without a chain or ever find it again without putting stakes in at intervals.

Most of them pronounce it a fraud, just a scheme to get bonds. Every township through which it passes is asked to give bonds. In this case they ask 2000$ for every mile it passes through in the Township which in this township is about 6. They ask 12000$ payable in 20 years and to draw interest at the rate of 8pc from the completion of the line through that township from either end.

Years ago when railroad building was in its infancy here it might pay them to send a corps of engineers through the country to make a bogus survey for all were so anxious for a R.R. that they would vote bonds without any condition. In such cases those to whom they were voted could collect them at any time and sell them & in many cases no more would be heard of the Railroad. Now the condition that they are not even to draw interest until a certain specified time is nearly always attached, so there would be nothing gained by a bogus survey. But the farmers, who, like the Welsh farmers with the ballot, are either through ignorance or stupidity very reluctant to trust it & are always afraid of some smart lawyer getting ahead of them. Often than otherwise, it is an actual financial gain to the townships through which a R.R. passes, for the accrual receipts in taxes from that Co. generally not only pays the interest but bond as well by the time it becomes due. There are exceptions, of which Osage Co. is a notable one. At the time the Santa Fe passed through there, they voted county bonds which were also unusually heavy. Most of the taxes are payable to the townships & in every way a comparatively small area of the county is benefited by it. A Township is generally 6 miles square. A R.R. passing through it is sure to benefit the whole of it - i.e. the benefits go to those and only those who bear the expense & burdens.

I wrote to Uncle John [this refers to Mr - later Sir - John Henry Puleston, MP for Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England, the brother of Robert's mother] some time last week.

A blind man passed through here last week. He held a musical entertainment which was a most miserable affair but he cleared about 31$00 by it. He lost his sight by an accident when 12 years old.

I understand that Dr. Parry Llanarmon and family have just arrived at Oak Grove last week.

R I Jones Llanuwchllyn is still staying with Pant at Osage City. Some of them think he will get a call to Arvonia. Hughes has left.

I believe that Pant keeps on with his business but I do not know to what extent he has injured it.

I must write to Henry [Robert's younger brother] next. I have not done so for quite a long time. It is fortunate that he is not free to come here now for it is not the best time to come in. There is no doubt but that K.C. will have wonderfully improved even in the next year or two. Of course he might get along all right here now, it is better here than most places in the country, but it will be infinitely better, look at it as you will, to come in another year or two as a fully fledged banker than to come here as nothing, which would be the case now.

I never heard anything from Rt. William Davies. If any of them inquire again, you can tell them he could easily get into a corps as rodman or chainman & it would depend entirely on himself how much farther ahead he would get. Good practical engineers here when out of work rather than work at anything take a 40 to 60 dollar position in an Eng.'s Corps as rodman or even axeman. Promotion here is according to merit. Although I could not promise anything I would if here when he came do all I could to help him to find work. Changes are so sudden & unexpected here that even if I was in business for myself I could promise nothing to anyone so far away not even to Henry. When I give an opinion of this sort, it is always given subject to innumerable changes that may take place before it reaches you, & any one coming here acting on my representation of the country or any one else's must come prepared for any and all hardships and disappointments that they may meet with here. If they expect everything to be like it is at home they had better not start.

There is not the least difference here in the way of making money to what it is in Wales or anywhere else. There is only one way to get rich & that is by good, honest, hard work. Trying other ways of course is popular everywhere but the desired goal is seldom reached through any of them.

The idea of coming into this great country at first pleased me greatly & I found it a very easy & pleasant work to build castles in the air, but the romance and novelty of coming here soon wore off. If it wasn't for the fact that hard experience is good and wholesome I would always regret the first 18 months I spent here. [This suggests he arrived in Kansas no later than March 1886, and probably earlier than that]

The dinner bell has rung & I must get there or I shall be left.

Give my kindest regards to all who inquire.

With best love to all of you at Mount Place

From your affectionate son

R. Lloyd Jones"

[The first 2 sheets of this letter are missing]

"One thing I hear no talk of & that is of making taffy.

I pay 12$ a month for my room which includes fire and light & 20 cents for each meal I take in the house. I generally take my breakfast and supper here & dinner at the creamerie which most often costs about 10 cents, hardly ever more than 15, except today for instance it was 30 cents because I took oysters & tea. When I am hungry at noon I can get at the creamerie a good dinner of Buttered Toast & eggs, bread & butter & tea for 20 cents. It is the eggs that cost 10 cents. This creamerie restaurant is the best place for a lunch in town. They have about a hundred waiters. There are two immense public rooms there one above the other, the upper being furnished with a large number of small tables & the lower with an oval counter along the outside of which are fixed stools very handsome & like piano stools have a movable top. Inside the waiters do their work. It is the best conducted place I have ever been in. The waiters have sections allotted to them & I always sit in the same section. No sooner have I sat down than the waiter calls out to those who don out the eatables &c "Cup of tea" or often "No. 5 for 1", 5 being the number for tea. This number system is a great improvement on the system in most other places. It is most disgusting to hear them call out in a sing-song tone "Fresh eggs medium-boiled", "Milk in a bowl" "Cakes in a pan" &c. Everything here is numbered & as soon as you order anything the waiter calls the number out & in two or three seconds it is brought before you. There is a man constantly walking outside the counter & if he passes the same man still waiting for his order the waiter of that section is called to account & sometimes dismissed if it has happened two or three times before. The best part of this restaurant is that it is by a long way the cheapest in town.

A very general way of advertising a restaurant is to leave outside the undressed meat for a few hours. Those are the very places I can't fancy. There is one on the way to my office which does this every day. One morning there is a bear sometimes black lying on the pavement with its inside taken out in front of the restaurant. Another morning a buffalo or a deer & every morning dozens of squirrels, racoon, polecats & other small game. I could reconcile myself to buffalo meat once in a while, but to bear's never.

Remember me to all my old friends. I have received a letter from R W Davies which I will answer in a few days. I was very sorry to hear of the sad misfortune that happened in their family.

I was also very glad to hear of John's success at Oxford although a little disappointed about his place in the Synodical. [This must refer to the graduation of his blind elder brother, John, from Balliol College, Oxford in 1888]

I have a bad cold these days. Tonight I am going to take the cold water cure & sweat it out so as it is now past eight here or two in the morning at Bala I must stop writing with this sheet. [The 6 hour time difference suggests this letter was written from the Mid-West]

I wish you all a merry Xmas and a happy New Year.

From your affect. Son

R. Lloyd Jones

P.S. I am enjoying good - very good - health all along & people say I look better now than I ever did before."

In a letter to me dated 12 October 1991, John Mark Lambertson of the Kansas State Historical Society expressed the view that the last letter "was probably not written from Kansas but possibly Denver or some large city further west. The reference to bear and some other meats being left outside of eating establishments does not sound like Kansas in the 1880's, but it would have to be an unusually large, booming city in the west to have the style of streamline restaurant he wrote of."

In 1887, Kansas was coming towards the end of a railroad building boom. As far as I can tell, the railroad for which Robert conducted a preliminary survey was never built.

At 4 30pm on 11 February 1888, there was registered in Volume 70, page 191 of the Register of Deeds for Osage County at Lyndon an Indenture dated 8 February 1888 between Edward and Jane Puleston and Robert Lloyd Jones "of Jackson County in the State of Missouri", by which they released to Robert for $1 the West half of Section 18 Township 18 range 14 containing 320 acres, subject to encumbrances then on the land. Those encumbrances included two Mortgages in favour of the Equitable Mortgage Company and C Hood, under which Edward and Jane owed over $6,000, which they had failed to pay. As a result, they were being sued by the Mortgagees, who wanted the land auctioned to repay their debts.

At an auction on 15 February 1888, the land was sold for $6,904 to the highest bidder - Robert Lloyd Jones! Robert was required to get the sale confirmed by the court within 4 weeks and then pay for the property, but failed to do so. On 15 April 1888, at Emporia, Kansas (about 15 miles from Arvonia), Robert signed a promissory note for $30.84, payable to the order of the Emporia National Bank within 4 days, with interest at 12% per annum thereafter - the note would become void if a sale were made on 15 April by the Sheriff of Osage County.

According to my father Iago, Robert's youngest son, while in the USA Robert shook the hand of the legendary cowboy and showman, Buffalo Bill (William D. Cody), who was based in Kansas City for a time.

ROBERT'S FIRST MARRIAGE

On 4 February 1889, Robert and his first cousin, Fanny Jane Puleston, both then living in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, obtained a Marriage Licence from Platte County, Missouri (which lies to the north west of Jackson County). It appears from the Licence that they may have been married the same day, but it does not state when or where. It is not clear why they married in Platte County, rather than Jackson County. At that time, marriages were often performed in private homes, so it may have taken place at the home of a friend in Platte County.

It seems that their first son, Evan Robert Puleston Jones (known as "Roy"), was probably conceived on their wedding night, as he was born in Vine Street, Kansas City, Missouri on 7 October 1889.

In early 1891, the UK Census for Llanycil near Bala, Merionethshire, records Robert, Fanny, Roy and 2 servants living at Bodrenig, Arenig, the house built by Robert's father on his recently-acquired Arenig Estate:

Robert Ll Jones, age 27, Auctioneer, Architect and Civil Engineer, born in Llanycil, Merionethshire, bilingual

Fannie J Jones, age 26, born in Llanbedr, Denbighshire, bilingual

Evan R P Jones, age 1, born in Missouri, USA

Jane Rees, age 28, Widow, General Domestic Servant, born in Llandrillo, Merionethshire, bilingual and

Edward Davies, age 47, Single, Stone Quarryman, born in Llangower, Merionethshire, bilingual - presumably he worked in the nearby Arenig granite quarry owned by Robert's father.

Robert is categorised as "neither employer nor employed", so was presumably self-employed but with no staff. The enumerator of the census wrongly assumed that Robert and his family were related to the previous household recorded in the census, with the result that the relationships are incorrectly stated in the census.

CHILDREN

Their stay at Bodrenig must have been brief as, before the birth of their second son, Norman Lloyd Jones (known as "Nom"), on 12 June 1891, they moved to Mount Place, Bala, where Nom and a further 12 sons and daughters were born between then and 11 August 1907:

Evan Robert Puleston Jones ("Roy")

7 October 1889

25 December 1972

Norman Lloyd Jones ("Nom")

12 June 1891

August 1960

Edward Henry Emral Jones ("Gem")

28 December 1892

9 December 1981

Mary Essyllt Puleston Jones ("Essyllt")

25 March 1894

16 January 1964

Jane Frances Puleston Jones ("Frances")

29 April 1895

April 1969

John Lloyd Puleston Jones ("John Lloyd")

23 September 1896

3 February 1927

Sarah Lorna Puleston Jones ("Lorna")

4 November 1897

Reginald Puleston Jones ("Reggie")

3 June 1899

4 April 1910 *

Fanny Puleston Jones ("Fanny")

15 September 1900

March 1924 **

Thomas Harold Puleston Jones ("Harold")

7 December 1901

3 April 1978

Ann Sybil Puleston Jones ("Sybil")

5 June 1903

June 1905 *

William Augustus Puleston Jones ("William")

14 January 1905

18 August 1961

Ida Gwendoline Puleston Jones ("Ida")

8 March 1906

30 September 1988

Iago Oliver Puleston Jones ("Iago")

11 August 1907

2 March 1971

* = buried in Llanycil churchyard ** = buried in Christ Church, Bala

In 1891, Robert (described as an "Architect and Civil Engineer, Bala") drew up plans (now in Gwynedd Archives, Dolgellau) of Penybank and Plasdeon, two properties in Llanuwchllyn, near Bala. Those archives also contain the plans (in which he is described as "Architect and Surveyor, Bala") that he drew up for a proposed new chapel for the Calvinistic Methodists at Arenig.

CAPEL CELYN

Robert was the architect of the new chapel built at Capel Celyn, near Arenig, Bala, in 1892 for £800. The chapel was submerged when the Tryweryn reservoir flooded the Celyn valley in the 1960s. The following is a translation of part of the description of Capel Celyn on rootsweb :

"Despite several changes the last thirteen years of the chapel were not unfruitful. In the period between Mr R Jones leaving and the arrival of Mr T Jones, plans were made to build a new chapel. The architect was Mr Robert Lloyd Jones from Bala and the builders were Mr D Roberts and his son. Building began in 1892 and finished in 1893. The building is worth £800. It was opened at the monthly meeting in June 1893. At the opening ceremony the ministers who gave sermons were the Reverends J. Puleston Jones MA [Robert's uncle, the famous blind preacher], J Williams, Brynsiencyn, EJ Williams, Llandrillo, J Williams, Corwen and J Howell Hughes, Ysbyty.

Around the time the new chapel was built, Sunday Schools were also started in the district of Arenig, near to the highest valley of the neighbourhood. Soon after starting a school at Filldirgerrig in 1889, a move was made to a more convenient building in the valley of Bodrenig, the home of Squire Evan Jones [Robert's father], Justice of the Peace, and the Bodrenig family have given a great deal of support in the area. Preachers are frequently found to preach there on Sunday nights and that without extra expense to the members of Capel Celyn.".

BALA COUNCILLOR

Like his father Evan, Robert was elected a member of Bala Urban District Council, usually topping the poll with the highest number of votes of any councillor, as in 1894. On 21 December 1894, the Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Independent reported the election results:

On 30 April 1897, the Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Independent reported:

SECRETARY OF THE COMMITTEE TO ERECT A MEMORIAL TO T E ELLIS MP

On 27 May 1899, The North Wales Times reported that Robert had been appointed the Secretary to a committee formed to arrange subscriptions for a memorial to the late Mr T E Ellis MP:

1901 CENSUS

In the 1901 Census for Llanycil, Bala (taken on the night of 31 March 1901), Robert, Fanny and their family are recorded living at 12 Mount Street, Bala (formerly the home of Robert's parents, Evan and Mary Jones, who had moved to Bodrenig by then, probably in about 1891):

Particulars and Conditions of Sale of Brynhyfryd, Llandderfel (Lot 1) and the 2 cottages in Mount St, Llandderfel (Lot 2), "the properties to be sold by auction by Robert Lloyd Jones at the Derfel Gadarn, Llandderfel on 15 December 1898" on behalf of the vendor, John Thomas Jones. They were sold for £200 to Robert Thomas.

"a Valuation for Probate of the Estate of Roger Hughes, late of 41 High Street, Bala, made by Robert Lloyd Jones, Surveyor and Estate Agent, Mount Place, Bala ", dated 16 October 1909, for £193.

"2 plans (1 dated August 1910, the other undated but clearly about the same date) by "Robert Lloyd Jones, Architect and Surveyor, Bala of land for proposed New Chapel for the Calvinistic Methodists at Arenig".

a 1912 draft Conveyance of land at Arenig, one of the parties being "Robert Lloyd Jones of Fairbourne, Land Valuer".

The Gwynedd Archives in Dolgellau also include correspondence in 1901 relating to the sale of plants by Robert on behalf of a Dutch nursery.

The correspondence includes a letter dated 18 January 1901 on the printed letterhead of "ROBERT LLOYD JONES, Auctioneer, Architect & Civil Engineer, Bala, N.W." The letter is handwritten, by "HPJ" (his brother Henry?) on Robert's behalf, and addressed to Mr P Ravensberg Jr., Fleurs Hotel, Finsbury Square, E.C., London and reads: "In reply to yours of the 15th For a/c of Sale of Plants, I beg to say that they are not all sold. A Good Part of them were sold on the Day of the Sale; but I am trying to get as near a price as possible to the Sale prices for those left unsold. Yours faithfully, R Lloyd Jones, Per HPJ"

On 11 March 1901, Mr Ravensburg's Solicitors in Salisbury wrote to Robert "for the a/c of the sale of a consignment of Nursery Stock which he sent you on 24th Nov last and about which you wrote him on 18th January last".

Robert apparently took no notice of that letter, so on 22 May 1901 the Salisbury Solicitors wrote to a firm of Solicitors in Bala asking them to recover the debt, even though "the balance due is not likely to be much", because of "expenses & shipping & railway charges". This resulted in Robert sending a cheque, and the balance of £2 8s 6d was paid to the Salisbury Solicitors on 22 June 2001.

The Gwynedd Archives in Dolgellau also contain correspondence in 1910 relating to the sale of 30 Mount Street, Bala by Robert on behalf of Miss Lloyd, Mount Street. The correspondence includes:

a letter dated 19 March 1910 to John R Jordan, solicitor, on the printed letterhead of "ROBERT LLOYD JONES, Architect, Civil Engineer & Surveyor, Engineer to the Penmachno Corwen & Bettws-y-Coed Light Railway - Bala, North Wales (and at Barmouth)". The letter was handwritten, and signed, by Rober

2 typed letters on his letterhead dated 13 and 26 April 1910.

SURVEY OF THE PROPOSED CORWEN AND CERRIG-Y-DRUIDION LIGHT RAILWAY

On 11 July 1902, the Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria reported:

ENGINEER TO THE PROPOSED PENMACHNO, CORWEN AND BETTWSYCOED LIGHT RAILWAY

On 1 November 1907, The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard reported his involvement with a proposed light railway in North Wales:

I still have some of his blank notepaper from his role with that railway:

It seems that Robert was often short of money. Gwynedd Archives contain many documents relating to court cases brought against Robert by creditors for unpaid debts:

On 17 June 1903, Hugh E Davies, a Bala butcher, sued Robert Lloyd Jones of Mount Place, Bala, for £9 18s 0d for meat supplied to him but not paid for.

On 16 May 1907, "Robert Lloyd Jones of Mount Place, Bala, Architect" was sued in Bala by Robert Jarrett Roberts of Tryweryn House, Bala, claiming £51 4s 2d for goods sold by my grandfather on his behalf between 8 May 1897 and 2 February 1907. Robert did not appear in court to defend the claim and judgment was awarded against him. He was unable to pay the sum awarded against him, but eventually offered to pay a total of £50 at £2 a month.

Between September 1908 and January 1909, there was protracted correspondence between Robert Lloyd Jones of Mount Place and John R Jordan, a Bala solicitor, regarding money claimed by a Mr Williams of Capel Celyn for goods which Williams claimed to have left with Robert's staff over a five year period for auction by Robert. Robert said he had no record of the goods in question and Williams seemed very vague and was unable to provide proof of the auction rooms ever having received any of the goods, initially claiming £1 2s 6d and then increasing it to £4 3s 8d. In the end, the parties agreed to compromise and Robert agreed to pay Williams £1 in 2 months time in order to settle the matter out of court.

On 2 December 1910, The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard reported Robert's appointment as an assistant valuer:

On 28 December 1910, Robert wrote from 46 Belgrave Road, Fairbourne, Merioneth (a house that he rented from the Fairbourne Estate) to another of his creditors that he was then unable to pay him but that, after he began to receive his salary for his new job with the Fairbourne Estate, he would then be in a position to pay something to each of his creditors.

2ND MARRIAGE AND MOVE TO FAIRBOURNE

On 2 November 1910, Robert Lloyd Jones (of Mount Place, Bala, surveyor) entered into an "ante-nuptial" marriage settlement in favour of his intended 2nd wife, Elizabeth Parry of Okenholt Farm, near Flint, Flintshire, spinster. Elizabeth's brother (Thomas Parry of Wernddu, Northop, Flintshire, farmer) and Robert's eldest son Roy (Evan Robert Puleston Jones of Mount Place, Bala, Clerk) were the trustees of that settlement. The property settled by that document was:

all the furniture, household and domestic goods, chattel, effects and ornaments belong to Robert in Mount Place, Bala and 46 Belgrave Road, Fairbourne, both then occupied by Robert and

all Robert's interest under the will dated 8 Februsary 1908 of his late father, Evan Jones of Bodrenig, "gentleman".

The property subject to the marriage settlement was settled on Elizabeth for her life and, after her death, on any children of Robert and Elizabeth's marriage or, if there were no children of the marriage (as turned out to be the case), on trust for whoever would have inherited as her next of kin under the statutory intestacy rules had she never been married and never left a will. I find this rather strange, as Robert still had to support many young children from his first marriage and was, it seems, very short of cash - maybe it was intended to put those assets beyond the reach of Robert's unpaid creditors.

On 18 November 1910, The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard reported their marriage:

On 25 November 1910, the Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal also reported their marriage on 15 November:

Some time after their marriage, Robert, Elizabeth (Auntie Lizzie, as she was known by her stepchildren) and his children moved to an end of terrace house called Stanwick, 46 Belgrave Road, Fairbourne on the Merionethshire coast of Wales. Fairbourne was owned by the Fairbourne Estate and was laid out and developed as a seaside resort.

1911 CENSUS

This census shows Robert, Lizzie and his family living at Fairbourne:

In March 1912, the minutes of a meeting of the deacons of Tegid Chapel, Bala in that month record that a membership ticket was sent to Mr R Lloyd Jones to the church at Friog (which is the other side of the railway line from Fairbourne) "to which he had recently relocated" and that a warm letter was sent to the church at Friog (National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Calvinistic Methodist Archives, Capel Tegid, CZ2/5/38).

On 18 October 1917, The Barmouth and County Advertiser and District Weekly News contained an advert for Robert's practice in Fairbourne:

The Gwynedd Archives in Dolgellau contain:

a letter dated 23 April 1914 from Robert to J R Jones Esq., Solicitor, Bala on the printed letterhead of "Fairbourne, Cardigan Bay, The Popular Seaside Resort, Building Land on Sale or Long Lease - Estate Office, Fairbourne, Merioneth". The letter was handwritten, and signed, by Robert. It begins: "I have been here all week and only had your letter this morning. I return conveyance duly executed. I have put on a sketch from memory to no scale and which is quite as much as the Commissioners require, as it shows clearly what is conveyed........."

a Conveyance dated 28 April 1914 between (1) Mary Ann Jones of Bodrenig, Bala, Widow, (2) Robert Lloyd Jones of the Land Valuation Offices, Fairbourne, Barmouth, Valuer, (3) Evan Williams of Tawelfan, Bala, Surgeon, (4) the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Ruthin, co. Denbigh, by which the Corporation agreed to buy for £140 "all that property know as Crispin Yard situate in the town of Ruthin, bounded on the North side by Clwyd Street, on the East side by the Old Mill property, on the South side by the property now or recently belonging to Col. Cornwallis West & on the West side by the river Clwyd", being 1192 square yards, together with the messuages and Cottages and buildings thereon". The Conveyance recites that:

"under and by virtue of the will of John Puleston late of Plas Newydd in the parish of Llanfair D.C. in the County of Denbigh, farmer, dated the first day of November 1849 and proved in the Bangor Consistory Court on the 25th day of February 1851 the said Mary Ann Jones became seized in fee simple free from incumbrances of an undivided 1/3rd...and the said Robert Lloyd Jones was seized in fee simple of 2/3rds" of the land"

by an Indenture dated the 20th day of March 1909 between Robert Lloyd Jones and Owen Jones (of Arenig Street, Bala, Greengrocer)", the latter lent £350 to Robert secured by a mortgage on his 2/3 share of the land.

a draft, dated 1916, Exchange of land, an undated Plan and an Incremental Value Duty Form dated 11 April 1916, between (1) Mary Ann Jones, Bodrennig, in the parish of Llanycil, widow; Rev John Puleston Jones, Pwllhelli, co. Caernarfon, Minister; Robert Lloyd Jones, Fairbourne, Land Valuer; Henry Puleston Jones, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bank Manager; Rev Ward Williams, Grey Holt, Summer Hill, Wrexham, Minister; Mary Emily Williams, his wife; Thomas Griffith Roberts, M.A., 28 Cranville Road, Stroud Green, London, Clerk in the Welsh Education Department; and Jane Augusta Roberts, his wife; and (2) the Urban District Council of Bala. These relate to the exchange of freehold land adjoining the Gas Works (containing 280 square yards and coloured red on the plan) conveyed by the family to the Council and adjacent land (containing 288 square yards and coloured blue on the plan), together with the wash house thereon, conveyed to Mary Ann Jones.

On 15 January 1910, the Denbighshire Free Press reported a prosecution brought against Robert in connection with his property at Crispin Yard, Ruthin:

ROBERT'S CONTINUING MONEY PROBLEMS

The Gwynedd Archives in Dolgellau contain several letters and other documents from Robert's time in Fairbourne regarding his continuing inability to pay his creditors promptly. By 1915, he was so short of money that he proposed entering into a compromise agreement with several of his unpaid creditors:

A draft agreement was to be entered into between (1) Robert Lloyd Jones of Stanwick, Fairbourne, Land Valuer, (2) his wife Elizabeth Lloyd Jones, (3) a trustee not named in the draft agreement and (4) four of Robert's creditors - Evan Williams of Tawelfan, Bala, physician - a Mrs Jones (possibly the Emily Jones referred to below) of 106 Arenig Street, widow - Ellis Davies of 48 Mount Street, Bala, collector - Martin Woosnam of Newtown, Montgomeryshire. solicitor). The draft agreement recorded that Robert was then unable to pay his debts to those creditors in full, but that they were willing to give him time to pay. It also stated that, under an agreement dated 12 January 1912, Lizzie was entitled to a quarter share in an estate called the Ynysfaig and Penrhyn Farms in the parish of Llangelynin, Merionethshire and known as the Fairbourne Estate. Under the draft agreement, Lizzie was to mortgage her quarter share in the Fairbourne Estate to secure Robert's debts to the 4 creditors. In return, they were to give her at least 3 months notice if they intended to sell or mortgage her quarter share and, for at least 5 years, could not do so for less than £2,500 - whatever proceeds were raised from that sale would be accepted in full discharge of the debts. Also, the creditors were not to take any other action against Robert to recover their debts.

On 16 March 1915, Robert wrote from Fairbourne to Mr Davies enclosing the draft agreement for comments and assuring Davies that, once the document was signed, "the final payments of the debts will be assured within five years & if not then the creditors can realize if they want to", adding that he would see that the rates were sent to Davies that month.

On 24 May 1915, Robert wrote from Fairbourne to the solicitors acting for the 4 creditors. In that letter, he said that he was quite prepared to do all he could to pay all his debts in full and had gone on doing so for many years instead of filing a petition for bankruptcy. He intended paying all his creditors in full but, for 5 years, more than half his income had been used to pay old debts. He explained that "the War has given the Department an excuse to dispense with my services...... and I am absolutely without work or income of any kind".

On 23 November 1916, on the letterhead of Puleston Jones & Co, Civil Engineers, Architects, Estate Agents & Surveyors, of Fairbourne, Robert wrote to Mr J R Jordan, solicitor of Bala, regarding Emily Jones, a bankrupt, asking him to return the draft agreement to Robert who had promised to submit it for perusal to the Official Receiver.

It is not clear whether the agreement between Robert and his creditors was ever entered into. The above-mentioned agreement dated 12 January 1912 relating to Lizzie's quarter share of the Fairbourne Estate was presumably entered into when Sir Arthur McDougall (of self-raising flour fame!) sold the Fairbourne Estate that year to the Fairbourne Estate Company.

On 28 and 29 August 1917, the Fairbourne Estate (then 370 acres, including the Ynysfaig Hall Hotel, the Fairbourne Golf Links and the Miniature Railway) was to be auctioned in lots by Knight, Frank & Rutley at the Pavilion, Fairbourne. The Particulars of Sale record the Surveyors & Architects as "Messrs Puleston Jones & Co., Fairbourne (R. Lloyd Jones)". The Plan enclosed with the Particulars (I have an original) was drawn up by "Robert Lloyd Jones, Architect and Surveyor, Fairbourne".

The forthcoming auction was advertised on the front page of The Times by Knight, Frank & Rutley on 24 July 1917 and again on 16 August 1917, both adverts mentioning Messrs Puleston Jones, Surveyors, Fairbourne.

The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth has a copy of the Particulars of Sale, which include references to Robert Lloyd Jones, Puleston Jones, The Fairbourne Estate, Merioneth.

The General Remarks & Stipulations in the Particulars of Sale, in paragraph 13, stated: "Where boundaries of Lots are not clearly defined on the ground they shall be set out, if so desired by either the Vendor or the Purchaser, by Mr R Lloyd Jones, Engineer and Architect, Fairbourne, Merioneth, whose fee for so doing shall be paid by the parties requiring the boundaries to be so defined, and whose decision shall be binding on all persons concerned."

The Lots to be sold on the second day included "Lot 158, Private House NW 122, Occupier Mr R Ll. Jones, Frontage 31 yards, 468 square yards, Rent £22". This was Stanwick, 46 Belgrave Road.

Presumably Lizzie's quarter share of the proceeds of sale of the Fairbourne Estate enabled Robert to pay his debts to the 4 creditors.

Robert lived for the rest of his life in Fairbourne.

Robert Lloyd Jones (second from left) in Llanarmon in 1917

ROBERT'S DEATH

According to my father, Robert was a rather forbidding and strict father and a very religious man.

Robert died at 7pm on Monday 11 March 1918, age 54. Entry number 149 in the Register of Burials in the Parish of Llanycil records the burial of Robert Lloyd Jones, Stanwick, Fairbourne on 15 March 1918, age 54 years, certified by R R Williams (which indicates that the burial service was conducted by a Non-Conformist Minister). There is a cross opposite the entry indicating that he was buried in Christ Church, Bala (rather than in the churchyard at Llanycil, on the shores of Bala lake, about a mile West of Bala).

However, despite combing the Christ Church graveyard, where his parents, his father's parents and several of his siblings are buried, I can find no gravestone for Robert or his first wife Fanny (who was also buried there). My wife has a theory that they are buried in an unmarked plot between Robert's parents, grandparents and siblings in Christ Church churchyard and that it is unmarked because neither Robert nor his children could afford a gravestone owing to his continuing shortage of money. The theory makes a lot of sense, as there is certainly a large enough space, as shown by the photograph below:

OBITUARIES

An extensive obituary appeared in the 5 April 1918 edition of The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard:

The obituary continued:

"On returning from America he commenced practice in his native town and rapidly came to the front in all public movements. For a period of fifteen years he was member of Bala Urban Council, being returned each time with one exception at the head of the poll, and was chairman of that body for two years. Bala and the district has never perhaps realised its indebtedness to him for the amount of professional services he contributed feely. The main street with its spacious outlook fringed with stately trees is one of the visible tributes to his work. He championed the Council's claim for repayment of part of the expenses incurred by the Council with marked ability and success. He took a leading part in the encouragement of eisteddfodau, literary and debating societies, and especially in the development of the Welsh drama, acting in collaboration with the late "Gwrtheyrn" in the adaptation of several of Daniel Owen's novels and Gwilym Hiraethog's works for stage reproduction. In this work he had to run counter to the prejudices of many of the older religious leaders of the district. In 1902 he was elected deacon at Capel Mawr C.M. Chapel, a fellow officer being his father. For some years he occupied the position of surveyor of a projected railway from Corwen to Bettwsycoed and prepared plans which were acknowledged by engineering experts to be models, and spent much labour and money in endeavouring to form a company to carry the project through. Difficulties, however, arose and the project was abandoned, but it is quite possible that in the future someone will reap the benefits of Mr Lloyd-Jones's sowing. Some years ago he removed to Fairbourne where he became interested in the Fairbourne Estate and also took a position as a Government land valuer. When war broke out he went as superintendent of construction work at an aircraft works: four of his sons joining the army and serving with forces operating in various countries. It was in the latter position that Mr Jones sustained a breakdown in health which ultimately proved fatal. Interment was made at Bala on the 14th. The Rev E Trefor Evans, pastor of Friog and Llwyngwril, officiated at the house. On arrival at Bala a short but impressive service was held at the Presbyterian Chapel, the Revs Wm. Jones, pastor, and R R Williams MA officiating. At the graveside the Revs E Trebor Evans and R R Williams MA took part in a brief service. Much sympathy is evinced for his widow and ten children in their sorrow, while Fairbourne district by his death has experience the loss of a keen, active and progressive spirit."

A report of the funeral of Robert Lloyd Jones was published in the Welsh language newspaper, Y Seren, published in Bala on 23 March 1918:

My distant cousin Rosalind Couchman and her colleague have very kindly provided me with the following translation of that obituary, which apparently is in somewhat formal and archaic Welsh - very many thanks to both of them:

"Last week on Monday night, 11th of the month, Mr Jones died at his residence in Fairbourne, at 54 years old. Prayers were held at the family's grave in Bala Church Cemetery last Friday. A service was held at the house in Fairbourne, before which the Reverend Trefor Evans, minister for the church of Friog and Llwyngwrol, went from Bala station to the English Chapel, where a short and moving service was held. A part of the Scriptures was read in Welsh by the Reverend William Jones, Parc [an area in Bala], prayers were offered in English by the Reverend R R Williams, M.A. and 'O Hills of Jerusalem' was sung in English and Welsh. By the graveside, the verse "Leaving the tabernacle" was ministered by the Reverends E Trevor Evans and R R Williams.

He was the son of the late departed Alderman Evan Jones and Mrs Jones, Bodrenig, formerly of Mount Place, Bala, and his brothers are the Reverend J Puleston-Jones, M.A., Pwllhelli, and Mr H Puleston-Jones, North & South Wales Bank, Blaenau Festiniog, and his sisters are Mrs Ward Williams, Gwersyllt, and Mrs T G Roberts, London. Intense sympathy is felt for his dear grief-stricken wife and his surviving children, who are local and in the army.

To note Mr R Lloyd-Jones's worth and service one would need to look back at his past. Approximately 25 years earlier he was indispensable in the life of Bala. He was chosen as an officer in Tegid Church in 1902 and was a joint officer with his father for about nine years.

Having left Bala for Fairbourne, he was faithful to the Methodist cause there and frequently preached in English. Mr Jones was well-versed in general knowledge, including the Scriptures, and was a good theologian. He was educated at the grammar school and was a student for two years at Bala College.

He was adventurous and zealous during the setting up of a company to build a railway between Corwen and Betws-y-coed."

AFTER ROBERT DIED

After Robert's death, Lizzie and several of Robert's children from his first marriage moved to Bodrenig, the house in Arenig built by Robert's late father, Evan Jones and then part of Evan's will trust. It seems that Lizzie rented it from the trust until about 1922 or 1923 - on 10 January 1923, she wrote a letter from nearby Filltir gerrig.

Lizzie married her second husband, Edward Jones, on 29 September 1934. He had 2 children (Mary Ellen and Bertie Wyn) by a previous marriage. On the date of her second marriage, Lizzie also made her will, in which she is described as of Tytandderwen, Llangwm, Denbighshire (a village near Corwen). Lizzie died on 15 February 1941. Lizzie's will left £169 16s 6d of War Loan stock and whatever property she had received under Robert's will to those of Robert's children who were alive when she died.

However, there was great delay and difficulty in obtaining probate of Lizzie's will, partly due to the Second World War and partly to Lizzie's executor dying soon after her. When the matter eventually came to be sorted out in 1947, there was great confusion as to the combined effect of (1) Evan Jones's will of 1908, (2) the marriage settlement between Robert and Lizzie of 1910 and (3) Lizzie's own will of 1934:

Robert and Lizzie's 1910 marriage settlement had given whatever Robert had inherited under his father's will to Lizzie for life and then to whoever would have been her next of kin if she had not married Robert.

Presumably in ignorance of the terms of that marriage settlement, Counsel's opinion of 15 April 1919 (taken by the trustees of Evan Jones's will following the death of Evan's widow Mary Ann Puleston Jones) advised that Robert's 1/5th share of his father's real estate belonged "to his eldest brother" (the Rev Dr John Puleston Jones) as Robert's "heir-at-law".

Lizzie's 1934 will had been been drafted on the mistaken assumption that she had received assets from Robert under Robert's will, and that she could in turn will them to his surviving children, but (according to a letter from Robert's son William and my own researches) Robert had left no will.

The solicitors for the trustees of Evan Jones's will advised the trustees that Robert's children were not entitled to any part of the income or capital from the Arenig Estate unless Lizzie's next of kin agreed otherwise.

In the end, it seemed to have been agreed that the War Loan stock and the 1/5th share of Evan Jones's estate were to be shared among Robert's surviving children. This consisted mainly of the Arenig Estate (including Bodrenig, the Quarry, and a farm let to Evan Roberts, who "is allowing the farm to become dilapidated & …. pays the rent only under pressure & then in instalments instead of two half yearly instalments"), as Mount Place had been disposed of between the deaths of Robert in 1918 and Lizzie in 1941.